When the Lake Township trustees approved plans for a new administration building they did so looking to construct a facility that would serve township residents for generations to come.

But the approach to the entrance to the building, which will be open to the public for a memorial ceremony June 5 at 3 p.m., looks back and remembers the seven victims of the tornado that hit the Wood County community last June.

Millbury residents Edward and Julie Blank began the process of rebuilding their Main Street home immediately after an EF-4 tornado struck on June 5 last year.

For two months following the tornado, they stayed with the Bihn family in Perrysburg, and the following four-and-a-half months rented a condominium in Oregon.

On December 17, they moved into their new home.

“I love it. I would trade my new home to have my old one back and to have our friends that were lost in the tornado back in a heartbeat,” Ed said.

Still, when storms approach, it doesn’t get easier for the Blank family.

“I think everybody does well when the weather is nice,” Ed said. “But, as soon as there is questionable weather coming or bad storms or we read about disasters in other areas, it’s different. We are not just tornado victims, we are disaster victims, and when you see people’s lives affected by disaster you have a special place in your heart from that point forward.”

For many in Northwest Ohio, news coverage of tornadoes that devastated parts of the nation’s mid-section seems like déjà vu – bringing back raw memories for Northwest Ohioans.

For Lake Schools, the tornadoes have inspired a desire to help. Last week, the district held a collection drive for cash, cleaning supplies, non-perishable food items and bottled water to help tornado victims of Joplin, Mo.